UPDATE: 'Numerous citations' coming in I-80 crash

Tuesday

Oct 16, 2012 at 11:43 AMOct 16, 2012 at 5:19 PM

All lanes of Interstate 80 have reopened in the Stroudsburg area Tuesday afternoon after two-tractor trailers crashed this morning. Both westbound lanes and one eastbound lane were closed between the Route 209 merge and Main Street exit for 4½ hours after the 11:30 a.m. crash.

A tractor-trailer driver, who caused a Tuesday crash involving two other tractor-trailers on Interstate 80, “will be cited with numerous summary traffic violations,” state police said.

The 11:23 a.m. crash at mile-marker 304.8 in Stroud Township backed up traffic on the highway and connecting roads for hours. Edwin Chavez, 31, of Paterson, N.J., was driving a 1999 Freightliner west on I-80 when he lost control for unknown reasons, causing the trailer's load to shift and the vehicle to overturn across both lanes and over the median into the left eastbound lane.

An Acura TL, driven by Susan Arnst, 56, of East Stroudsburg, was hit by debris from the overturning tractor-trailer. Another tractor-trailer, a 1998 Freightliner driven by Gary Bailey of Independence, Mo., was hit by the first tractor-trailer's trailer.

A third tractor-trailer, a 1996 Freightliner driven by William Cowan, 62, of Bordman, Ohio, took evasive action and went into a grassy area, damaging its undercarriage. No injuries were reported, but all vehicles involved suffered minor to major damage.

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